Novel Full Chapter 294
“How do we find him? If he’s so famous, it should be easy, right?” Luke asked Wanney, who quickly began to deny with her head.
“No, I’m afraid not. Hazor was a legendary man…I haven’t heard his name spoken in many years. It seems he stepped down as commander when the former Emperor died. As far as I know, he never said where he was going.”
At that moment, Meredith noticed Luke’s gaze become downcast. “Wait a second, did you just deduce that this man you are looking for would be in the largest city nearby?”
“N-no, of course not… My gut just told me that Stahurt might be the right place.” Luke lied without giving Wanney a chance to be suspicious either. “Anyway, walking around like I did this morning didn’t do much good. We have to be able to make contacts with locals and ask them.”
“Luke, we’re on camouflage elixir right now and it takes away some of the attention we would normally bring, but going out asking if we’ve seen this man might draw unnecessary attention.” Meredith pointed out.
The half-wolf nodded. “You’re right.”
Just then, Wanney raised his right hand to the waitress who was taking down orders at a nearby table. Seeing someone’s arm rise in her field of vision, the young waitress instantly looked at him.
The woman moved closer and tossed a lock of hair behind her left ear when she noticed the scales on Wanney’s face. “What do you need, soldier?”
Stahurt was located only a few thousand miles from the mountain ranges, so most of its inhabitants knew the traits of the Corrupted, those who guided the hordes of monsters onto the battlefield.
“Do you know Commander Hazor?” Wanney was direct and asked her.
The two half-beasts accompanying him to the table widened their eyes, believing him to be a complete idiot.
“Of course, I know him! He was a phenomenal swordsman who lived in these lands not too long ago. There are rumors that he was possibly born here and was the master of a dojo near Great Eliezer, but those are just stories.” The woman promptly replied without hesitation. It was common for people in the taverns to ask about all sorts of subjects, especially recently.
Again, the half-beasts’ eyes widened. This lack of reaction and notion on the part of the waitress was astounding even to the people of the Melki Empire, who used to not look down on everyone as the people of the Broteforge Empire had in recent years.
Wanney was not satisfied with the woman’s answer, and continued to question. “And does this so-called dojo still exist? You know how it is, we who fight have a certain passion in our hearts for that sort of thing.”
The woman looked at Luke and then looked at Meredith, easily noticing that both were also warriors, both by the not at all flabby appearance of their skins, and also by the looks on their faces. Then she put her right index finger to her mouth and said:
“Hmm… It’s hard to say. These stories have been circulating for a long time and I don’t know if the people who know up to Great Eliezer know about it. Maybe someone will look for the truth someday.” She retorted, a little reflexively.
“Hey, waitress! Another round of beer for table 6, please!” A citizen with flushed cheeks from all the alcohol he was drinking pleaded with the woman.
“Okay! I’m coming!” The waitress replied, turned to Wanney, Luke and Meredith’s table and bowed. “Excuse me, when you decide whether to order anything else, let me know!” She spoke politely.
Watching the waitress walk away, Luke looked coldly at Wanney, causing the man with scales to feel a deep sense of terror.
“I told you that you must not act without permission, not like this. You are not our friend, you are only collaborating with us for the sake of your family, remember that.” He warned Wanney, who broke into a cold sweat.
Stretching his hands forward, Wanney quickly tried to ease the tension. “Easy there, easy there! I was just trying to help. Look, we even got some new information. The dojo thing is a good place to start looking, isn’t it?” There was a faint smile on his face, which Luke hated.
The half-wolf shook his head negatively and rose from his seat, leaving behind only three Melkian silver coins, enough to pay for the drinks. He then left the tavern without saying anything.
Wanney was a little relieved and a little stressed by the half-wolf’s reaction. He was indeed thinking that he was succeeding in helping Luke with his efforts, but even that didn’t seem enough. Then he looked at Meredith and inquired:
“Really, what’s his deal? Why does he act like this every time I do something he didn’t ask?”
The half-fox took one last sip from her beer mug and placed it on the table, finally looking at Wanney. “We’ve already talked about this. Cara, we allow you to accompany us because we agree with your determinations and have the same enemies, but understand that the burden Luke carries is much greater than we can imagine. If we lose, you will at most lose your family, but we will lose everything we once had, an entire nation.”
As Wanney and Meredith left the tavern to meet Luke again, Wanney reflected on what the half-fox said. ‘He carries an entire nation on his back, hundreds of thousands of lives…I can’t blame him for being so paranoid about safety.’
Indeed, the pressure on the half-wolf’s shoulders was enormous, yet he hardly noticed it. With the instructions he was receiving from the Scales, everything had become easier, and most of the time he knew exactly where to go and what to do. Also, after training the Sea Ornament, , and for so long, Luke felt he was practically invincible.
Outside the tavern there were fewer people. It was afternoon, so there was less circulation in Stahurt, which, despite the plague ravaging many parts of the Melki Empire, was experiencing its best economic phase since its founding.
Leaning against the tavern wall, Luke looked at Wanney and didn’t curl up to ask what he had in mind. “Do you know what this ‘Great Eliezer’ is and where this is?”